Pslogging Companions

Several months ago, I had a counselor tell me that I didn't do relationships very well. My first reaction - he had a lot of nerve to say that to me!

I know a lot of people. Work in a visible vocation. Can't go many places without seeing someone I know. Long line of recognized accomplishments. And I'm a likeable guy. But being likeable, successful and knowing lots of people don't mean I do relationships well.

When you find yourself in trouble, you can tell a lot about the fabric of your friends, can't you? Fortunately, I haven't been in too much trouble along the way. A while back, though, I found myself in some trouble, and my relationship deficiency finally got exposed.

I got stuck in the mud. Admittedly it was a mess. All of a sudden, most of the people I considered my friends were no where to be found. Well, they weren't really no where. They just didn't want anything to do with me. Didn't even tell me to go to hell. Just turned off our 'friendship' like a light switch.

One thing I love about the Psalms is that they seem to cover the full range of emotions and experiences of my life. There aren't many things that I go through that God hasn't already seen someone else through along the way.

Check out what the psalmists have to say their experience with some of their friends:

• Psalm 31:11 - "I am a dread to my friends - those who see me on the street flee from me."
• Psalm 35:15 - "But when I stumbled, they (friends) gathered in glee."
• Psalm 38:11 - "My friends and companions avoid me because of my wounds."
• Psalm 41:9 - "Even my close friend, whom I trusted, he who shared my bread, has lifted up his heel against me."
• Psalm 55:12-14 - "If an enemy were insulting me, I could endure it; if a foe were raising himself against me, I could hide from him. But it is you, a man like myself, my companion, my close friend, with whom I once enjoyed sweet fellowship as we walked with the throng at the house of God."

If you've experienced pain at the hands of your friends, take heart - you're not alone. Loneliness is everything it's cracked up to be. It sucks. That's all there is to it. But in spite of all the crap the psalmists endured at the hands of their friends, they kept crying out to God.

The psalmists' experiences sound frighteningly similar to mine. So-called friends who flee when they see me, gather in glee when I stumble, avoid me because of my wounds and lift their heels against me.

Through it all, though, God's right there. Psalm 55:22 says, "Cast your cares on the LORD and he will sustain you."

Even when you don't know which of your friends you can really count on, give it to God. God won't let you down.